Holmes, RockHounds force Game Five

Grant Holmes worked 6.1 innings in the win. / Photo by Kimberly Contreras

Grant Holmes and four relievers combined to lift the Midland RockHounds to a 6-3 win over the Tulsa Drillers, forcing a decisive Game Five in the Texas League Finals.

Holmes, who tied for the A’s minor league lead in innings pitched during the regular season, worked 6.1 innings to earn the win. He allowed three runs (two earned) on four hits and three walks. Holmes struck-out six. Four Midland relievers — Brandon Mann, Nolan Blackwood, Tyler Sturdevant and Kyle Finnegan — locked down the win.

Sheldon Neuse had the big blow offensively, cracking a three-run homer that extended Midland’s lead from 2-1 to 5-1. After Tulsa pulled to within 5-3 in the seventh, Midland scored an insurance run in the eighth on a Tulsa error.

Neuse reached base three times with the homer and two walks. Viosergy Rosa had a two-hit game. Jorge Mateo didn’t have a hit, but he had a key defensive play in the ninth when he turned an unassisted double-play. With runners on first and second and none out, Mateo snared a line drive up the middle and then stepped on second to retire the lead runner.

James Naile will take the hill on Sunday as the RockHounds look to earn their fourth straight Texas League title.